Policy Forum Pod

On this episode of Policy Forum Pod , we hear from public policy expert Professor Glyn Davis who joined Professor Helen Sullivan live at The Australian National University to take a big picture look at inequality in Australia. It’s a common refrain that Australia is the land of the ‘fair go’. Despite the pervasiveness of this national myth, so many aspects of people’s lives are determined by chanc...

On this episode of Policy Forum Pod , Kim Rubenstein, Sharon Bessell, and Arnagretta Hunter reflect on the March4Justice protests and the policy changes Australia needs to make to end violence against women. After people took to the streets to protest violence against women in Australia, how can the country and its policymakers create a more gender-just and equal society? Is now the time to explor...

On this Policy Forum Pod , social policy researcher Peter Whiteford and expert in public health responses to humanitarian crises Kamalini Lokuge join us to discuss supporting Australians out of work, in vulnerable or insecure jobs, and what policymakers must learn from the COVID-19 crisis. With insecure workers among the most at risk during the COVID-19 crisis, what policy changes would provide th...

On this episode of Policy Forum Pod ahead of International Women’s Day, we’re joined by philosopher Fiona Jenkins and lawyer and labour rights advocate Lisa Heap to discuss how to end gender-based violence and harassment in the workplace. Despite Australia’s Sex Discrimination Act, gender-based violence and harassment remain far too common in workplaces the country over. Rape allegations by a youn...

On this episode of Policy Forum Pod , Elise Klein joins Sharon Bessell to discuss the Australian Government’s permanent increase to JobSeeker, punitive policies, and reframing the debate around the country’s social security system. This week the Australian Government announced the first permanent increase to the country’s unemployment benefit in decades. But many from the social services sector an...

On our 200th episode of Policy Forum Pod , Indigenous education expert and proud descendant of the Guumilaroi and Euahlayi First Nations Tony Dreise joins Arnagretta Hunter to discuss Australia's education system and learning from the country’s history. Are Australian schools being supported sufficiently to bring Indigenous perspectives to life in the nation’s classrooms? How can policymakers move...

This week on Policy Forum Pod , Aboriginal health advocate and Alyawarre woman Patricia Anderson AO joins us to discuss the Uluru Statement from the Heart, Australia’s path towards reconciliation, and why acknowledging its history is crucial for the country’s future. Why is a constitutionally-enshrined Voice to Parliament critical to Australia’s journey towards reconciliation? Will Australia accep...

To kick-off 2021, we listen to the voices of leading Indigenous Australians, who join us on Policy Forum Pod to discuss wellbeing. On the first episode, water expert Virginia Marshall speaks about what policymakers can learn from Indigenous knowledge of Country. What is Country and why is it significant for Indigenous Australians? Will Australian governments recognise First Nations Australians as...

On the final episode of Policy Forum Pod for 2020, Martyn Pearce is joined by Arnagretta Hunter, Sharon Bessell and John Falzon to look back on the year, and our special mini-series on the wellbeing economy. It’ll go down as the year everybody is very happy to see the back of. But what have we learnt from 2020? And what can policymakers do to ensure 2021 is a whole lot better? On our last episode...

On this episode in our special Policy Forum Pod mini-series on the wellbeing economy, Carolyn Hendriks and Millie Rooney join us to discuss how people and communities are bypassing politicians and policymakers to pursue a positive vision for Australia’s future.  Throughout 2020, with all its trials and tribulations, many people have felt a strong sense of disconnection. But amidst this isolat...

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated how deeply interconnected health and economics are. But can policymakers put health front-and-centre of economic conversations beyond the pandemic? Joining us on this episode of Policy Forum Pod to discuss health, equity and the wellbeing economy is Professor Sharon Friel. How does Australia’s economic system affect our health? And in the wake of the devastat...

Rather than returning to the status quo, many are calling for a change in thinking (and in policy) as societies around the world grapple with the coronavirus crisis. One such advocate for change is global development expert David Hulme, who joins Sharon Bessell and Arnagretta Hunter for a fascinating discussion on the wellbeing economy in this instalment in our special mini-series.  Why doesn...

On the third episode in our special mini-series on the wellbeing economy, Arnagretta Hunter and Sharon Bessell are joined by Guy Standing, economist and author of The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class . With more and more people being forced into insecure work, many are calling for a more lasting solution for precariousness. One often-suggested solution is a ‘universal basic income’, so what migh...

Can we use economics to solve climate change? In this second episode of our Policy Forum Pod mini-series on the wellbeing economy, top climate experts Mark Howden and Tim Hollo join Sharon Bessell and Arnagretta Hunter. Climate change has been front-and-centre of public debate following the presidential election in the United States. President-elect Biden has committed to rejoining the Paris Agree...

On this Policy Forum Pod , Sharon Bessell and Arnagretta Hunter kick off our mini-series on the wellbeing economy by getting back to first principles with economist John Quiggin. The concept of a ‘wellbeing economy’ has gained momentum in recent years, but how might this work in practice? In the first episode in our mini-series on the wellbeing economy, Professor Sharon Bessell and Dr Arnagretta H...

On this Policy Forum Pod , our panel - education expert Lawrence Saha, ACT education union boss Glenn Fowler, and Indigenous education scholar Marnie O’Bryan - examine the impact of the coronavirus crisis on school students, parents, and teachers. The coronavirus pandemic has caused unprecedented disruption for school students the world over, with 1.5 billion pupils impacted by school closures at...

Why do people believe the falsehoods they read online, and what impact is this having on politics and policy? On this special Policy Forum Pod in the lead-up to the United States election, we look at misinformation and disinformation in the ‘land of the free’. The Internet and social media has revolutionised the way people access and share information. But unfortunately, not all information was cr...

This week on Policy Forum Pod , we’re joined by politician and economist Andrew Leigh, workplace researcher Carys Chan, and consultant Ben Hamer to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the working lives of Australians. For many people their working patterns have changed dramatically in 2020, with more working from home, an increased reliance on internet and online communication, and some additional f...

On this Policy Forum Pod , top climate researcher Mark Howden, social scientist Bec Colvin, and science writer Ketan Joshi examine the past and present struggles of Australia’s climate policies, and how policymakers can put the country on the right track. Does this Federal Budget represent another missed opportunity for Australia to take meaningful action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions? Despit...

In the final episode of our special Policy Forum Pod bonus mini-series, Professor Sharon Bessell examines the health and economic impacts of the coronavirus crisis on those already experiencing deprivation. While the impact of the COVID-19 crisis has been felt all around the world, people already experiencing poverty face some of the most severe challenges in the wake of the pandemic. From the hea...

On this episode of Policy Forum Pod , our panel - Sharon Bessell, Arnagretta Hunter, and John Falzon - examine Australia’s first budget in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis and ask whether it lays the groundwork for a more prosperous and just nation. The Australian government may have spent big in this federal budget, but does it deliver the right outcomes for the country’s long-term future? Has the...

On the penultimate episode in our Policy Forum Pod bonus mini-series on poverty, Helen Suich and Angie Bexley join us to discuss what their research shows about the intersection of poverty and disability, and why policymakers must recognise that people with disability have rights, not just needs. There is a growing understanding that the experiences of people with disability are nuanced and divers...

On this special Policy Forum Pod live event, we're joined by prominent TikToker Ricky Chainz, national security expert Dr James Mortensen, and digital anthropologist Dr Crystal Abidin to discuss TikTok culture and the national security concerns about the platform.   It’s the latest social media craze to sweep the world, and has been the entertainment platform of choice for many during COVID-1...

In this episode in our special bonus series on poverty, Dr Angie Bexley joins us to discuss Indonesia’s recent progress on poverty reduction, and what the findings of the Individual Measure of Multidimensional Poverty reveal about deprivation in the country’s remote eastern provinces. Southeast Asia’s largest economy, Indonesia, has made major strides in poverty reduction in recent decades. But of...

On this episode, we look back on some of our favourite Policy Forum Pod moments ahead of this year’s Australian Podcast Awards. Over recent weeks, the Policy Forum Pod team has been busily preparing our submission for the Australian Podcast Awards. In this time, we’ve had the chance to listen back through some of our favourite moments on the pod since the beginning of 2019. We all know happiness g...